Fledgling companies at the 20 or so incubators clustered around UC Berkeley, UCSF, and other University of California campuses are well-placed to benefit from the new $250 million venture fund the university system plans to set up next year. But leaders at the incubators say they also plan to be on the giving side, helping UC Ventures make the best return on its investments in innovative startups with ties to the university.

“We’ll be giving them inside advice on who we think is hot,” says Regis Kelly, director of San Francisco-based QB3, which runs two incubators at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus and one near UC Berkeley. Kelly, an Xconomist, is well-placed to closely observe startups in those programs. “We get to see what they’re like—how hard they’re working.”